USBWA Release
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Penn State men's basketball point guard Jalen Pickett has been named to the midseason watch list for the Oscar Robertson Trophy, presented annually to the men's college basketball National Player of the Year by the U.S. Basketball Writers Association (USBWA), as announced Thursday afternoon.
Pickett is the only player in the country averaging at least 17 points (17.7) per game, seven rebounds per game (7.7) and seven assists (7.3) per game. Only one men's college basketball player in the last 30 years has finished the season averaging 17/7/7. Michigan State's Denzel Valentine finished the 2015-16 season averaging 19.2 points, 7.5 rebounds and 7.8 assists per game en route to first team All-America honors and Big Ten Player of the Year accolades.
Pickett ranks second in the country in assist-to-turnover ratio (3.74) and fourth in assists per game (7.3). The Rochester, N.Y. native is the only Big Ten player that ranks in the top 10 of the conference statistical standings in scoring (fourth), rebounding (10th) and assists (first).
The six-foot-four guard has played his best in Big Ten play, averaging 20.3 points per game, 9.4 rebounds per game and 6.6 assists per game through seven conference contests. He's shooting 53.3% from the field, 50.0% percent from 3-point range and 80.8% from the free throw line in conference action.
Pickett has tallied five double-doubles and one triple-double this season, just the second triple-double in Penn State history. The do-it-all point guard has recorded eight 20-point games this season, 16 double-digit scoring efforts, and has led Penn State in assists in all 18 games.
Pickett is on track to set a Penn State single-season assists record. The current single-season Nittany Lion record stands with Tim Frazier's 198 assists in 2012. Pickett already has 131 assists through 18 games this season, meaning he needs to average just 4.8 helpers per game through the remaining 14 guaranteed games to best the school-record mark.
Pickett has put together a stellar collegiate career with career marks of 1,870 points, 644 rebounds and 729 assists through three seasons at Siena and two at Penn State. He is just one of three active Division I players with 1,800 points, 500 rebounds and 500 assists and one of two active Division I players with upwards of 1,000 points and 700 assists. His 729 career assists are second amongst active Division I players.
The USBWA has named a National Player of the Year since the 1958-59 season. In 1998, the award was named in honor of the University of Cincinnati Hall of Famer and two-time USBWA Player of the Year Oscar Robertson. It is the nation's oldest award and the only one named after a former player.
At the conclusion of the regular season, the entire USBWA membership will vote for the award. The winner of the award will be announced at the 2023 Men's Final Four in Houston with the formal presentation to follow at the annual USBWA Awards Luncheon hosted by the Missouri Athletic Club in St. Louis.
All Division I players remain eligible for the 2022-23 Oscar Robertson Trophy. The watch list merely spotlights the top 50 candidates, as selected by the USBWA board.
Pickett and the Nittany Lions are 12-6 on the season and return to action Saturday afternoon against Nebraska in Penn State's only home Saturday game of the season. Tipoff from the Bryce Jordan Center is slated for 2:15 p.m. and the game will be nationally televised on the Big Ten Network.
